New Columbia coworking space aims to build community, flexible environment

Workers from all walks of life soon can gather in the newest coworking space in Columbia’s skyline.

Venture X is a coworking space franchise that is opening its newest location at the top of 1901 Main, on Main Street in Columbia. The goal is to provide flexible spaces for the city’s entrepreneurs.

Anyone can rent the spaces for as long as they like. Spaces can be shared or private.

Coworking spaces already exist in Columbia, but Kimberly Rickman, president of Venture X, said there are fewer than Columbia needs. 

She said extensive research was done in the search for a new franchise location. Columbia is a growing city, and since COVID there has been a decrease of in-office workers, Rickman said. 

“We’re seeing a large increase in population,” Rickman said. “A lot more people working either hybrid or remotely. And we’re seeing remote opportunities are causing people to have depression and anxiety and social isolation, and (they) really want to be back in office.”

These mental health concerns are something that coworking spaces look to address, Rickman said.

Coworking spaces have been a rising trend over the past 10 years, she said, but COVID gave the coworking concept a huge boost.

“This just gave a great opportunity for people to come back into a workspace with a culture that creates opportunity and helps them grow their business,” she said.

And Venture X will be different than most spaces, Rickman said.

“Our floor is 17,179 square feet,” she said. “We have floor-to-ceiling windows, and it’s the top level, so it just has gorgeous views of the city and surrounding.”

Venture X also will include a cafe, conference rooms, community areas and office spaces. The space will include 85 private offices and conference rooms serving groups of four to 65 people. That should create a flexible environment conducive to networking, Rickman said.

Venture X should appeal to people from all walks of life, said Allen Wilkerson, vice president of office services at Colliers, the property management firm for 1901 Main.

“It could be a solo entrepreneur,” Wilkerson said. “Could be accountants, attorneys, medical industry. Could be any type of small business — someone who doesn’t want to sign a long-term lease — who wants more flexibility in their terms, and might need just one office.”

He said coworking spaces are a great option for local businesses that may be figuring out how to get started.

“It’s going to be a flexible environment that allows smaller companies to be able to sort of pick and choose what makes sense for them and have some flexibility as far as length of term and as far as sort of how the space gets utilized,” Wilkerson said.

The building already hosts a variety of other businesses and has provided many amenities to make it a great place to locate, said Beth Smith-Pollom, Collier’s property manager for 1901 Main.

“We have an on-site restaurant,” Smith-Pollom said. “We have fitness facilities. We have our own parking garage. We have a nice park area, a beautiful lounging area outside for the tenants’ use.”

Smith-Pollom said the building includes the offices of some state and federal officials, including U.S. Sen.Tim Scott. The building is also home to banks, attorneys’ offices and accounting firms.

Venture X has franchises in Charleston and Greenville, but each location is different. Rickman said the company is hoping to play into the historical “vibe” of downtown Columbia.